


Neophyte

by Villicus



Category: The Amazing World of Gumball
Genre: Gen, Science Fiction, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-18
Updated: 2017-01-18
Packaged: 2019-06-17 13:18:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15462234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Villicus/pseuds/Villicus
Summary: With man's technological evolution, more are pushed to question the relationship between mankind and technology, and ponder where exactly humanity stands within modern society's moral ambiguity. Forced into the world of biohacking and genetic modification, Rob discovers that the concept of the Übermensch is still very much alive, and very, very deadly.





	Neophyte

**Neophyte**

 

 

* * *

" _The bounds of experimentation twist and turn_

_through mountains of miscalculation and often lose themselves in..._

_**terror and darkness.** _ _"_

* * *

Rob opened his eye. He must have dozed off by accident.

He blinked to focus his vision, and realized he did not recognize the world that he awakened to. He could see only darkness, apart from a weak light source in one direction. He could feel the rough, cold floor on his back.

He stood, finding himself in a strange house that seemed familiar.

_This is..._

His thoughts were cut off as he stepped outside, his heart sinking at the sight before him.

A great expanse of television noise and floating islands, debris, and other assorted items surrounded him.

Items sent into a strange place where all of the world's mistakes are kept.

Items misplaced, forgotten, and abandoned.

Items that still vanished every day like shadows at noon, under the blinding light of "progress."

Rob was one of them, and ever since he had escaped from that awful place, one of his greatest fears was some day waking up in there again.

In the Void.

Tonight, that fear was realized.

A sudden flash of light blinded him, followed by a loud noise that spooked him, making him yelp and fall backwards. He tried to stand, but found himself bound to a chair. As he looked down at himself, his surroundings shifted. The spacious void was gone, replaced by four walls that had appeared around him. Darkness enveloped the new room, the only source of illumination coming from a tiny light bulb suspended on the ceiling.

_Where am I?_

He struggled against his restraints, but got no closer to freedom.

In front of him was an empty table and chair, and a metal door in one of the dark corners of the room.

"Hello? Is anyone there?"

No answer.

 _Am I still in the Void?_  he thought.

_Is this a dream?_

He pushed and pulled at his bonds, but they did not budge. After multiple fruitless attempts, he simply gave up, realizing his efforts weren't even loosening his restraints.

 _Where the_ heck _am I?_

He struggled to remember the events leading up to the current situation, but despite his best efforts, he could glean nothing from his mind. The only memories he could recall consisted of his usual everyday life as a nobody in Elmore. Fighting and surviving alone.

The door at the end of the room slid up with a loud hiss. A black silhouette, holding a folder, entered and took a seat at the table.

"Who are you?" Rob said aloud.

The stranger ignored the question.

"Name?" it said in a cold, emotionless voice.

"Where am I?"

"Your  _name_?" repeated the shadow.

"Rob."

The entity opened the folder and pushed it across the table towards Rob. Inside the folder, there was a photo of him.

"Tell me," the black silhoutte said, "who is this?"

"That's… me."

The figure held up a mirror for its captive.

Rob's eye opened wide in surprise.

The reflection he saw was different.

Before he was distorted.

Before he escaped from the Void.

Before he was nobody.

He asked, "What happened to me?"

"Yes, what did happen? What terrible thing did that to you?"

Rob clenched his fists. The entity's words dripped with sarcasm. It made no effort to hide it.

"You already know. What do you want from me? Who are you?"

If the shadow had a face, Rob could swear it would have worn a twisted smile.

"Smart boy. However, the question is not what we want, but what  _you_  want."

Rob narrowed his eye. "What are you talking about?"

"Have you ever heard of CRISPR?"

Rob maintained his glare.

The shadow continued. "CRISPR stands for 'clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats.' It is a gene modification tool that allows for the editing of genes with remarkable precision, efficiency and flexibility."

"What does this have to do with me?"

"Would you like to have your old body back?"

Rob furrowed his brow in confusion. "What do you mean?"

The figure stood. It towered over Rob, intimidating him further.

"Dreams are strange things, wouldn't you say?" it asked.

"What?"

Rob shifted his gaze downwards towards the photo. He took in the sight of his old body again, as if it would be snatched away at any moment.

"This is a dream?" he asked.

The shadow said, "If you desire to have your normal body back, we can grant you this and so much more."

Rob took a moment to think. Of course he'd want his old body back, but the creature was implying genetic experimentation. Rob was no scientist, but he knew of the stories of maniacal scientists in books and movies, and whatever creation they produced almost always turned against them and harmed everything else.

He asked, "How can you even do that? Who are you?"

"We are Outland."

"Outland?"

The shadow nodded towards the door.

"Specifically, we are k_OS."

Rob squinted at the door, realizing there is text written on it.

**Outland Industries**  
**k_OS  
** **Redesign. Modify. Amplify.**

"k_OS." Rob repeated. The shadow pronounced it "chaos."

"Yes. A small team within Outland, and the future of mankind, if you will. We possess the most advanced technology in all fields of science."

The shadow stretched out its arms, gesturing to the surroundings.

"Even now, our technology allows this interaction between us to happen."

Rob's confusion grew. "This dream is  _your_  doing?"

"And we are capable of so much more. So make your choice. You are either with us, or against us. Your time is running out."

"What do you mean?" Rob asked.

The creature seemed to emit a strange, dark energy. The light from the bulb above appeared to grow weaker, giving way to the growing shadows. The walls and floor faded from view altogether.

"The dreams we make will drag you into great fear. Time is not on your side, so I suggest you make your choice quick."

It placed its hands on the table, which slowly started turning black, spreading like a dark growth from the point of contact. When it was completely taken over, the creature lifted its hands, and the table melted into the floor.

Into the shadows.

Rob gasped, recoiling in fear. He tried to stand and run, but the chair remained firmly anchored to the floor.

"You look afraid," the creature said. "Don't be afraid. This is a dream. The last dream you may ever have."

It approached Rob and grabbed his neck, lifting him up, along with the chair.

It spoke with a distorted voice. "For nightmares  _are_   _coming_."

With each word, the creature's voice grew more demonic.

Rob's vision started to fade out, and his limbs felt like lead. His skin was turning black, like a growing shadow at sundown.

Suddenly, the darkness around them broke into cracks, shining with purple and green light. It looked like a mirror that had been punched.

The shadow seemed to scoff. It dropped Rob, who started gasping for air.

"The Dreamcatcher approaches," said the creature. "You are lucky. You will not get to experience the dark half of your dream. Make your decision, Rob, then come to the park."

The environment broke and fell away like shattered glass, revealing bright, swirling light, reminiscent of deep space and the colorful stars, nebulas and galaxies within. The bonds restraining Rob were gone. He simply floated in space, taking in the astonishing sight. He felt extremely tiny and insignificant as he gazed at the beautiful incandescence of the stars and massive planets, pitifully indifferent to his existence.

A disembodied voice boomed in Rob's ears.

"Give yourself to me. I am life."

A small planet appeared, floating down in front of Rob. It was a miniature version of Earth, small enough to fit in Rob's palm. He cupped it in his hands as it started glowing. The light eventually started to blind him, and as everything turned white he lost all sensation.

He opened his eye. He was on the floor, the bookshelves of a library surrounding him. Rubbing his eye, he thought it strange how calm he was.

This, however, didn't prevent the torrent of questions and fear from flooding his head.

After a few minutes of attempting to organize his thoughts, one question seemed to rise up above the rest, ferociously demanding an answer.

_Was any of that real?_

He stood up from the cold, dirty floor of the school library, where he had chosen to live out his days as one of the homeless of Elmore. It was a decent place to stay; the librarian was easy to avoid, the students-who no longer recognized him-were nice, the computers were usually available, and it provided him with memories of moments long past.

Moments that never happened for anyone else.

The Void took them from him, along with many other things.

He shook his head, returning his attention to the question lingering in his mind. Thoughts about his losses would drag him back into envy-induced misanthropy, and that would do him no good.

The doors of Elmore Junior High swung open, and Rob stepped outside. The cool night air chilled his skin, and the full moon granted him light where the street lamps did not.

In spite of the dubious claims of the shadow in his dream, he moved with conviction towards the park, determined to satisfy the voices in his head afflicting him with unanswered questions. His craving to be "somebody" again was more than enough motivation to investigate, heedless of the danger.

* * *

_Excision of the heart_

_Precision of the mind_

_So this is how we start_

_To leave our weaknesses behind_

* * *

The park was empty and silent, other than the rustling of the leaves in the gentle breeze that blew throughout the trees, and the soft footfalls in the grass produced by Rob's disfigured feet.

_I'm overthinking this._

_It couldn't have been real. It was just a dream._

_Wasn't it?_

_That thing…_

_What if everything it said was true?_

Rob continued to struggle with this internal violence, trying to regain clarity of mind in the midst of a vortex of thoughts, but a few minutes of aimless wandering put many of these questions to rest.

_This is stupid._

_There's nothing here._

He turned to leave.

"Stand in place."

Rob froze.

"Identify yourself."

Rob turned around, towards the source of the voice. He saw nothing.

The air shimmered, and a strange robot slowly materialized in front of him, making him yelp and jump back.

The android, which looked like a floating torso with white armor and a glowing visor, did not react.

"Identify yourself," it repeated. "You have ten seconds to comply."

The digits at the end of its arms flashed with electricity, illuminating the droid in ominous light.

Rob gulped, but mustered his courage. "Rob."

"Identification confirmed," the robot replied.

A sudden flash of light from behind the android hit Rob like a stun grenade, temporarily blinding him. After five seconds of a complete loss of eyesight and hearing, he started to regain his senses, and found himself in a familiar dark room.

_No way._

His gaze landed on a metal door, the text written on it glinting in the light. Exactly as he saw it in his dream.

"This way, neophyte," said a robotic voice.

Rob realized that the android was still with him. It glided towards the door, which slid up, making its characteristic loud hiss.

"Where am I?" Rob asked.

The robot hovered into the hallway.

"The doctor is waiting, neophyte." It continued on its way, the glow of its visor quickly fading. Rob hurriedly followed, fearful of being left behind in the dark. His footsteps echoed loudly off the metallic walls, indicating the large size of the facility.

The robot stopped at a set of double doors.

"The doctor is waiting for you inside," it said.

A voice from behind the doors stopped Rob before he could reply.

"Our bodies are capable of adjusting in ways we've hardly dreamt of."

Rob froze. He heard this voice before. The slightly raspy voice of an adult male.

"I'm so close now. So very close. If we could only find the key…"

Another voice spoke. It sounded like a young man. "Key to what?"

"Complete transplantations," came the indignant reply. "We'll be able to transplant limbs and organs, and be able to replace diseased and damaged parts of the body as easily as we replace eye corneas now. The new parts will join together as though they were formed there."

"It can't be done."

"It  _can_  be done!" the older man replied. "With my new special compound I've created, I can do it. I  _know_  I can do it."

"Sure, sure, that's what you say."

"That's what I  _know._ "

"Remember: lies can't keep you alive, doctor," said another voice, deep and commanding. "But I can. See to it that you deliver what you promised."

A few seconds of silence passed before the doctor replied. "Your concern is a great comfort to me. Good night, captain."

The doors to the room burst open, nailing Rob in the face. As he lay on the floor, hands on his aching face, he heard two sets of footsteps that soon faded away. Whoever walked out failed to take notice of either Rob or the hovering robot.

As Rob got to his feet, he overheard the man in the room muttering to himself.

"I've had enough of you and your insidious talk. If I wanted to, I could turn your existence into a lifetime of agony.  _Then_  we'll see who's laughing at whom, you miserable fools."

"Doctor. The test subject is here," the robot said.

The doctor replied, "Excellent. Bring him in. We must hurry."

Rob didn't like being called a "test subject." He reluctantly stepped through the double doors, and saw a vast laboratory full of chemicals and strange equipment. Unlike the rest of the facility, the lab was relatively well lit, its white walls bearing the same text that Rob had seen before, but with an extra line at the bottom:

**Outland Industries**  
**k_OS**  
**Redesign. Modify. Amplify.  
** **Neurachem Room**

"Hello, Rob."

Rob searched around for the source of the voice, but noticed only a lab coat on the single office chair in the room. Then the chair swiveled, and he realized that the coat had limbs. A living lab coat, with black dots for eyes and a dark line for a mouth.

The coat bore a smile.

"Or should I say, Doctor Wrecker?" he added.

A look of incredulity formed on Rob's face.

He stared at the doctor and asked, "You… you were that shadow thing?"

The doctor stood from his chair.

"Yes. I apologize for that unpleasant experience, but we cannot seem to perfect that technology yet."

"Who are you? What is this place? Can you really fix me?"

"Now, now. You'll get all your answers in due time."

The doctor placed a hand on Rob's shoulder, and lowered his voice.

"The question now is… do you really want your old body back?"

Rob nodded.

"Villain isn't really working out, and I don't want to be a nobody again."

"Very good. Let us begin."

 

* * *

_Impervious to pain_

_Deletion of all fear_

_Our loss will be our gain_

_As human deficiencies all disappear_

* * *

Rob awoke with a jolt. His vision was cloudy, and his body felt like heavy lead. He blinked a few times, trying to focus his vision. Then he came to his senses.

He found himself immersed in thick, viscous liquid, his body horribly mutilated and augmented with mechanical parts. His eye opened wide, and he tried to scream, but a tube connected to the gear on his face prevented him from making a sound.

_What is this? This isn't what was supposed to happen!_

Rob clenched his fists, and punched at the glass. Cracks appeared, and the glass finally gave way after a few attempts. The unknown fluid spilled out, dragging Rob along with it. He sprawled out on the ground, ripping the tubing off his face. He coughed hard, expelling unknown substances from his system and drawing fresh air into his lungs. He tried to stand, but collapsed on all fours, restrained by two cables attached to his back.

He tried to wipe off viscous goo that still clung to his face, but stopped abruptly as he felt the metal meshed with his flesh. He kept his face buried in his hand, now becoming aware of the mechanical parts fused to him. It covered the back of his head and continued all the way down to his waist.

_What happened to me?_

A siren started to blare, and flashing red lights shone in Rob's eye. The door to the room started to slide down, while a loud hissing noise came from outside.

Rob took hold of the cables connected to him, and pulled them off. They fell to the floor, leaking more unknown substances. Whether they were vital to Rob or not, he didn't care. He wanted them off.

He ran, and managed to slide under the door just seconds before it came down, heavy locks shifting into place.

The hissing sound was gas being pumped into the hallways. It didn't seem to affect Rob, but it did slightly obscure his vision.

_I have to get out of here._

He sprinted down the hallway, using his heightened senses and enhanced physical abilities to jump over doors, slide under closing barricades, and punch through sealed entrances.

To anyone else, contact with the gas would have been an invitation to a slow and agonizing death. Oblivious to Rob, the experimentation allowed him to survive the toxic-laden soup being poured into the facility. Implants scrubbed noxious substances from each breath he drew into his lungs.

_Where am I even gonna go?_

"Don't run, Rob."

A voice on the intercoms. It was the doctor.

"The real word is not ready for you yet."

The red lights illuminated a shadow at the end of the hallway. Rob slowed, his enhanced eyesight piercing the murk beyond, showing a robot blocking his path.

"I'm not done with you yet. Please allow our security team to show you back to your room."

 _Room? That was a vat!_ Rob thought. His pace returned to a sprint as his anger grew.

"I promise, Rob," the doctor continued. "I  _will_  fix you. Not only will you have your normal body back, but you'll be better than before on the inside."

_To heck with that._

Rob scanned the hallway, spotting a grate on the wall just above the floor, still spewing gas. He dug his feet into the ground, shifting his momentum, and threw himself towards the grate. The added force of his speed and enhanced strength allowed him to bust through the wall into a small vent shaft that extended into the lower levels.

As he fell through the shaft, his mind wandered to only two people who seemed to care about him. He knew he would have a lot of explaining to do, especially since he looked like a monster now, but he knew they'd help him. They were too good not to try, at least.

After a long descent, he finally landed on a metal floor that didn't crumple under him. Despite the long fall, he was surprisingly unhurt. He hoped he had reached the ground floor.

He spotted a thick metal door. Noticing no other reasonable paths, he readied himself for another shoulder bash. He yelled, charging at the door, and successfully bashed through, earning himself a glimpse at the night sky. He did not, however, expect to be 30 feet above the ground.

He screamed as he started another long fall, down to earth. During his descent, he could make out a stretch of metal-where he had busted through-slowly disappearing from sight, dematerializing in the same fashion as the robot had in the park.

The ground shook as he hit Elmore Park, his fall ending at the bottom of a tunnel he dug with his own body. He quickly got up, feeling no pain, and sprinted towards the Watterson household. He knew his captors would soon give chase, so he had no time to waste.

k_OS was deployed to contain the experiment. Due to the nature of the their work, they were authorized, and even encouraged, to use deadly force. Hovering robots took to the sky, and concealed themselves with light-bending technology, rendering them nearly invisible. They took off at high speed towards their target, set with a default command:  **kill_OnSight**

Oblivious to Gumball and Darwin, a horribly deformed and extensively modified being with heightened senses was making its way to their household. It was late at night, yet the two boys were still very much awake, having a pillow fight with their little sibling Anais.

Rob could hear their laughter before he even stepped foot into the same block. He ran as fast as his legs would allow, but the robots had already closed the distance. They flew silently through the night sky, but their aerial turbines roared in Rob's ears.

His legs begged for rest, but he kept sprinting. He could hear the androids drawing closer, flying just above him.

Then the sounds stopped.

Rob skidded to a halt as the robots dropped in front of him. They landed without a sound, synthetic appendages protruding from their torsos. They formed a semicircle in the street, surrounding Rob. He walked backwards as the robots marched slowly towards him.

They raised their arms, taking aim, the unmistakable clicking sound of metal on metal reaching Rob's ears.

The robots broadcasted an extremely weak transmission; loud enough for Rob's heightened senses to pick up, but quiet enough to be unnoticeable by anyone else.

"Stop right there, Rob."

It was the doctor's voice.

"You wouldn't want to spoil the surprise of mankind's future, would you?"

Rob's anger flared. He tried to yell, but he found that his voice was reduced to the same volume as the androids' transmission. "You lied to me. This isn't what was supposed to happen."

Rob gestured to his body. "You call  _this_  humanity's future?!"

"You misunderstand, Rob. You are not finished yet."

The doctor's reply only fueled Rob's rage. "Not  _finished?_  Look what you did to me! I'm a monster! How could you possibly fix this!?"

"Trust me, Rob. I will deliver my promise"

"Trust you? After all you've done?!"

"What choice do you have?"

Rob opened his mouth to answer, but no sound came from his throat.

"That's right," the doctor continued. "Without me, you can do nothing."

Rob stood his ground, but his mind started to sink into doubt. "No. I don't need you. I can get help-"

The doctor laughed. "Those children? What could they ever do?"

"They'll do  _something,_ " Rob replied, stomping his foot.

Laughter again. "Don't be absurd, Rob. Remember that they turned you into a nobody in the first place. Only  _I_  can help you. Besides, why would anyone else even talk to you? You're nothing but a freak of life."

Rob remained silent.

"And a freak of death," the transmission continued. " _Think_ , Rob. I can, and will, help you. You will come out even better than before."

The children's laughter seemed even louder in Rob's ears. He switched his gaze from the droid contingent in front of him to the Wattersons through the window, then back.

The doctor pressed on. "You will no longer be a nobody. You will be the face of Outland Industries as we make our grand debut. You will be known across all the earth, the only connection these mongrels will have to the most advanced technology this world has ever seen."

A deafening silence passed for half a minute. The robots broadcasted another message.

"This ends  _now_ , Rob. No more stalling. No more second chances. No turning back. What do you choose? Will it be tragedy, or hope?"

Rob allowed himself a few more moments to think.

He said, "Can you really fix me?"

"Yes, Rob. But there's a catch."

A loud sound echoes through the night, silencing the children's laughter and striking fear into all within earshot.

Rob crumpled to the ground, motionless.

"We need you dead."

* * *

_The strong survive_

_The weak perish_

_It is the law of nature_

* * *

"Did you hear that?"

"Yeah. Sounded close."

The door to the room burst open, revealing a distraught Nicole.

"What was that? Are you kids alright?" she asked.

Gumball replied, "Yeah, we're fine. It came from outside." He walked towards the window, but was quickly pulled back by his mother.

"No! Let me check."

She carefully crept up to the window, scanning the road for anything out of the ordinary. After a few minutes of scrutiny, she sighed.

"Well, whatever it was, it's gone."

She turned, noticing the mess of feathers and pillowcases on the floor. With another sigh, she muttered, "I want this mess cleaned up before morning."

The kids groaned in response, but a mere glare from their mother was more than enough motivation to get them to work.

* * *

_Recoded humans_

_Shifting paradigm_

_We can't see where this path will lead_

_And we're running out of time_

* * *

At the front desk of the emergency room at the Elmore Hospital, a commotion broke out among the medical personnel.

"There's a man out there, killed by a shotgun blast."

"Who's got the shotgun?"

"Who was shot?"

"What the  _heck_  happened to him?"

"I don't know, we just found him outside!"

No one could answer the questions posed, but as the new patient was wheeled in, they stopped asking, focusing on saving Rob's life.

Before they could get to work, the doors burst open, revealing a lab coat holding a large toolbox.

"I'll handle this," he announced.

The medical personnel simply stared at the doctor. Before someone could speak, the high-pitched sound of an electrocardiogram rang out, signaling a flatline. Several people gasped. Some muttered swear words, and some bowed their heads.

However, the doctor seemed unfazed. He approached Rob's body, and opened his kit.

The physician-in-charge noticed this.

"What the heck are you doing?" he asked. "The operating room is no place to experiment!"

The doctor replied, "He's dead. I can't do any harm."

There was a moment of silence in the room. Everyone seemed to hold their breath as they awaited the answer of the physician-in-charge.

"Very well. The corpse is yours. Do what you want to do."

The doctor had a grin from ear to ear.

"Alright. Make an opening into the chest cavity. Apply one hundred milliamps of current directly to the heart and massage it by hand. I'll handle the brain area."

* * *

_"There is going to be a lot of expansion of the mind through interfacing the human brain with technology. There is an unanswered question of 'how far can you go and still be human?'"_

* * *

"His pulse is coming back stronger than ever! It's unbelievable."

The doctor replied, "Nothing's unbelievable if you have the nerve to experiment. How's his pulse?"

"Strong and steady."

After a few hours, Rob sat up. He was awake and alert, his body fully restored, including the distortions inflicted on him by the Void. Gone were the floating parts, horrible augmentations and gadgetry fused to his flesh. He was, for all intents and purposes, normal again.

However, underneath, he was now flesh, circuit, and bone. Living proof of genetically modified man. He was stronger, faster, smarter, and better than he could ever hope to be.

The medical personnel were completely dumbstruck. They could only stare at the resurrected cyclops.

One said, "My eyes are deceiving me."

"What you see is real," the doctor replied. "What's done is done and what I've done is right."

He placed a hand on Rob's shoulder. "We will hold our end of the bargain. You will be our ambassador, so to speak. This world will never forget you again."

A tiny smile formed on Rob's face. The new had come, and the old was gone. His new life started now.

The doctor asked him, "Would you like to test out your new powers?"

"Powers?"

"Snap your fingers."

Rob did as he was told, and a blinding light engulfed him.

He opened his eye, and saw that he and the doctor were back in the laboratory in the facility hidden above Elmore Park.

The doctor chuckled.

"This is your beginning, Neophyte."

Rob nodded.

"I shall not fail."

Unknown to Rob, an entire squadron of robots had materialized in the operating room after he had left. The medical staff started screaming, but before they could run, the androids emitted a powerful flash.

When the light died down, the room was completely empty.

* * *

_Welcome home, Neophyte_  
_Eternal satellite_  
_A darker place,_  
_A darker time  
_ _Both stripped away beneath the light_

_An old vision to replace  
_ _A new knowledge to embrace_

_You will  
_ _Ascend_

_Until  
_ _The end_

_For this is your beginning,_

_**Neophyte** _

* * *

The doctor sat in his laboratory, fake enthusiasm plastered on his face at the sight of the captain.

"What is it, captain?" he asked.

The captain replied, "I have heard of your little project's success."

"Why yes," said the doctor, beaming with pride. "It exceeded my expectations, as a matter of fact."

"Indeed. Rob will be a very useful asset, and I would like to thank you personally."

"Thank me? With what?" the doctor asked.

The captain continued, "I shall reward you by granting you access to what you have been so eagerly requesting to see."

The doctor's surprise turned into shock.

"You mean… the source of our technology?" he asked.

"Yes."

A robot materialized next to the two men, and generated a small portal.

The captain gestured towards it. "Please, enter."

"Ah, I knew it was in the Void!" the doctor said. He stepped through quickly, eager to see what lay beyond the light.

He gasped as he entered a dark, massive room with a large structure situated in the center, surrounded by four tall towers. He looked up at the strange machine with awe. It looked beautiful, illuminated by the portal's light.

"Finally. After all these years, I-"

The color from his face suddenly drained, his awe replaced by absolute fear.

The transparent glass container at the top of the structure was empty.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something move. Something big and fast.

He turned to look back at the portal, now dematerializing. The light dimmed and the room plunged into pitch darkness. He stared into the eyes of the person on the other side just as the portal closed.

"Enjoy your reward," the captain said.

A high-pitched, inhuman roar shook the room.

From the darkness, two arms that ended in large obsidian claws reached towards the doctor, pulling him into a crushing embrace. He was dragged away in a dark blur streaked with crimson red.

And then he was gone.


End file.
